Road freight prices fall, with expectations of higher harvests and greater movement at ports

Freight prices have fallen in several states, reflecting the lower demand for transportation and the reduction in the price of diesel. Despite this, the trend is upward in the coming months, with the expected increase in logistics movement due to the harvest of the second corn crop. The information is in the June edition of the Logistics Bulletin of the National Supply Company (Conab), released this Friday (27).

Corn exports in May 2025 totaled 6.1 million tons, below the 7.5 million recorded in the same month of the previous year. The main outflow point was the port of Santos, which accounted for 28.8% of the total exported. Next come the ports of the Northern Arc, with 25.7% of the movement - a significant drop in relation to the 45.3% recorded in the same period of 2024. Completing the list are the ports of São Francisco do Sul (16.4%), Paranaguá (12.9%) and Rio Grande (12.8%). Shipments departed mainly from the states of Mato Grosso, Paraná, Goiás and Rio Grande do Sul.

Photo: Claudio Neves

Brazilian soybeans, in turn, remain strong in foreign trade, with 38% of exports departing from the Northern Arc, a figure higher than the 36.4% of the previous year. The port of Santos contributed with 37.5% of exported soybeans, followed by Paranaguá (11.9%) and São Francisco do Sul (5.3%). The cargoes originated mainly from the states of Mato Grosso, Goiás, Paraná and Minas Gerais.

Soybean meal also showed an increase in the period from January to May this year, reaching 9.6 million tons exported, slightly above the 9.3 million in the same period in 2024. The movement was concentrated in the ports of Santos (42.3%), Paranaguá (30.8%), Rio Grande (15.1%) and Salvador (7.9%).

The fertilizer segment saw a sharp increase in imports in May, surpassing the volumes recorded in the first months of the year and being the highest since May 2022. In the accumulated period from January to May 2025, Brazil imported 15.27 million tons of the input, compared to 13.6 million in the same period last year. The main ports of entry were Paranaguá (4.09 million tons), Arco Norte (2.99 million) and Santos (2.1 million).

Freight

The June edition of Conab's Logistics Bulletin indicates that freight prices have fallen in several states, such as Bahia, the Federal District, Goiás, São Paulo and Piauí, where the market was influenced by lower demand for transportation and the drop in diesel prices. In Paraná, although there are regional variations, there was a decline in Ponta Grossa. In Minas Gerais, the trend is for stability in grains and an increase in coffee freight due to the off-season.

Photo: Claudio Neves

On the other hand, there was an increase in prices in Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, Maranhão and Minas Gerais (for coffee transportation), with emphasis on the growing movement of the second corn harvest and increased demand for transportation. The outlook is for a gradual increase in freight rates in the coming months. The state of Paraná also recorded an increase in freight demand in several regions. With intermediate behavior, Goiás and Piauí presented more stable markets, although with a slight reduction in movement.

The Conab Logistics Bulletin is a monthly publication that gathers information from ten producing states, providing analyses of the logistics panorama of the agricultural sector, details of cargo flow and the main corridors for the flow of national agricultural production. Access the June 2025 edition at Company website and check out the details.